A Report from Kyiv

As we noted in a previous entry, Erik was invited to Kyiv to interview potential Fulbright scholars. He received a big box from the Fulbright office full of files when we arrived in L'viv and he read them all before the trip Monday night. Alot of impressive people in all disciplines were vying for spots.

The train ride was bumpier than usual, so he did not get much sleep. He shared a four-person room with a young married couple and an older man (a business-type). Everyone was quiet and absorbed in his or her own thing. In the four-person rooms, there are two bunks and two lower berths. In the past, riders had to pay extra for their bedding (sheets, pillows, etc.). It was always a strange exchange - of course noone rejected the bedding (and really could not), but the price was tacked on in cash on the train and not included in the ticket price. This has changed and everyone received bedding without having to pay extra (a worn, thin mattress and clean linens in a plastic bag). It took awhile for everyone to get arranged; lights went out around midnight. Unfortunately, Erik's berth-mates wanted to leave the door open. This made it difficult for him to sleep, and he only nodded off for a couple of hours. He did, however, finish an Alan Furst novel (a great traveling companion for an East European train). In the morning, he ordered the 20-cent cup of tea, served in a glass cup with an ornate metal base (this is one of the great train traditions and comforts from the old USSR).

He was met at the train station, cleaned up, then went to interviews. The day was long, but included one incredibly humorous moment. Each candidate was brought in individually, then the panel introduced themselves one-by-one. After that, each candidate was asked an opening softball question about his or her plans. Erik quizzed one young man about the election literature - the candidate's area of research. Erik asked the interviewee to talk about research that has inspired him. The candidate began to answer that a professor from the University of Kansas had come to his town and given a lecture, and he read that professor's book. He must have been really nervous during the introductions, because he was talking about Erik, but did not realize that Erik was sitting at the table. He started to praise Erik's book, but indicated that there were some problems and controversial aspects. Only then did he realize that he was actually talking to Erik! His shock combined with the panel's amusement made for a memorable interview.

The Chicken Place is Dead...

...long live the new chicken place! Another Paul Johnson find was the "Chicken Place," or the L'viv Chicken restaurant. Not surprisingly, it primarily served chicken: expertly prepared, succulent, and drop-off-the-bone tender. We have been searching for it with no success. The address associated with the Chicken Place - 3 Katedralna Square - is now occupied by an Armenian restaurant. Unless it is hidden away in a corner somewhere, it seems to be gone. [Note - after this was posted, Alex Tsiovkh confirmed the Chicken Place's untimely demise.]

Adrian Erlinger, a graduate of the REES program, recommended the Old L'viv restaurant to us before we arrived. After a pre-dinner stroll to (of course) feed birds and to try to find the puppet theater, we stumbled upon the Old L'viv and decided to have a bite. The menu was simple: various salads and pickled vegetables, chicken soup, grilled chicken, and beverages. We ordered what we thought was a modest amount of food and had a feast delivered to our table. We plowed through delicious pickled tomatoes (an Eastern European treat that everyone should sample. Pickled tomatoes explode in your mouth and have a tangy flavor and soft texture), fried potatoes with dill and parsley, some dense white bread, and half a chicken. We watched the chicken turn in the rotisserie, and impatiently awaited our meal's arrival. The chicken was lightly coated with a sauce that permeated the parchment-thin, crunchy, crackly skin. We also had an extra bowl of the sauce for dipping (which seemed to be made of paprika, tomatoes, and vinegar - a savory but not hot sauce). The meat was extremely tender and soft, dripping with juices. All this with two large beers and a generous tip totaled less than $9. Sorry we don't have pictures (although our vegetarian friends are probably pleased and also probably stopped reading a while ago). Old L'viv also sells whole chickens for takeout. It was funny to see this, as it seems very American to pick up rotisserie chicken on the way home from work.

Erik leaves for Kyiv tonight. He was asked to participate in Fulbright interviews for Ukrainian students and faculty applying to visit the US. He returns on Friday.

P.S. Lea made applesauce on Apple Spas.

Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists

Every Sunday, for 15 or more years, an amateur choir has met at the statue of Taras Shevchenko in the middle of L'viv to sing Ukrainian national songs. Erik heard them perform on a previous visit to L'viv. We planned to listen to the choir today. This Sunday, however, the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists (CUN) held a rally on the square. The CUN is a controversial organization, and traces its lineage to Stepan Bandera and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (a group founded in the early twentieth century to advocate for Ukrainian statehood through revolution). The rally included a photo display of Ukrainian partisans who fought against Poland and the Soviet Union, and tents for the CUN and Svoboda, a political party contesting the upcoming elections. Svoboda's platform includes: a plan to call for reparations from Russia for the famine of the 1930s, elevation of OUN partisans to the status of heroes, and several measures to ensure that Ukrainian remains the language of official discourse. The party is a minor player in politics; about 200-300 people (mostly elderly) were on the square and fewer showed strong interest in the speeches. This rally was the first of many to be held in the center of town before the September 30 elections.

P.S. We had a busy day, so there are two posts - don't miss the one below!

Mass Confusion

We attended mass today, in one of the many lovely churches of L'viv. The city's dominant religious community is the Byzantine (Greek) Rite Catholic Church. Many Catholic rites exist and they are distinguished by their geographic distribution and various liturgical idiosyncrasies. The Catholic Encyclopedia has a detailed entry about these rites, but in a nutshell, the particular Catholic rite popular in L'viv is similar in its practices to the Orthodox Church, but is in communion with Rome and subordinate to the pope. This rite was banned under the Soviets, with many followers moving to the Orthodox Church.

We decided to attend the Dominican Cathedral, a massive church a few blocks from the apartment. Actually, there are many churches a few blocks from the apartment; while L'viv may lack in certain amenities, it does not lack in churches. The Dominican Cathedral is notable in part because it was converted into a Museum of Atheism in the Soviet period (and now has a Museum of Religion).

Today is Spas (or Apple Spas), an important Orthodox holiday also celebrated in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. It is the feast of Transfiguration and a harvest festival. Many people brought baskets of fruit or sprigs of dried flowers and fruit to church, and they were blessed after mass. Apples adorned most of the baskets, but they were also filled with other fruits such as grapes and plums as well as dried flowers. According to what we have learned, devout Ukrainians supposedly did not eat fruit until this holiday. If you want to know more about Apple Spas, you may read more details here (scroll down the page to the Spas entry).

Mass had a few familiar elements, but was quite different from mass at our home parish in Lawrence. We arrived about fifteen minutes early and the church was already abuzz with activity. Senior citizens and women with small children filled the approximately 180 seats available to churchgoers. Everyone else was expected to stand. Ten minutes before mass began, the church bells sounded out the call to mass; by the beginning of mass, the church was packed with at least 500 people. Mass began with the young priest and assistants entering from the side, as a cantor chanted prayers. The first fifteen minutes or so were filled with chants led by the cantor and responses by the faithful. During this time, the priest blessed the altar, icons, and parishioners with incense, rarely facing the assembled masses. People regularly bowed their heads and made the sign of the cross - in Orthodox fashion rather than like Roman Catholics (i.e., right to left rather than left to right). The priest faced the people during his homily. Erik understood bits and pieces, indicating that it was a fairly standard call to be Christ-like in behavior. After the homily, there were more chants and incense, followed by the preparation of communion. Before communion, there was the sign of peace, one of few familiar parts of the mass. When communion was distributed, only a handful of churchgoers went up to receive the bread and wine (perhaps 10% went to get communion). Erik got in line and as he approached the priest, he noted that the manner of distribution was unusual. Rather than receiving the host by hand, the priest used a spoon to drop a piece of wine-soaked bread into the recipient's open mouth (with the best technique including a slightly tilted and craned neck). Many parishioners kissed an icon on the way to communion. Erik received communion and tried to return to give Lea a turn. But, church was so packed it took him awhile to navigate a path to Lea and Carter. By that time, communion had ended. Lea spent much time looking at the statues of saints with pained looks on their faces and wondered if they too were standing on a marble floor for over an hour in high heels at a mass with only two words they could understand (amen, alleluia). After devouring most of his diaper bag food stash, Carter fell asleep in his stroller, which we put next to us halfway back in the church, directly behind those who were seated. When we left the church after mass, the space in front of it was packed with people, many with children dressed up, all holding up their baskets of fresh fruit or sprigs of dried flowers to be blessed. Some prayers were chanted and the priest sprayed holy water on the crowd.

Rainy Day

It was a rainy day on the streets of L'viv and we had just a few chances to get outside to "go feed birds," among other tasks, in between the raindrops. So, we spent most of the day inside. Carter worked on his new - and very challenging - dinosaur puzzle. Erik spent alot of time on his manuscript. Lea worked on cooking projects.

Last night, we went in search of baking powder. We did not know the term in Ukrainian, and Erik tried to explain it to a woman in the market. She thought it was "powder of baking," although that word for powder has many uses, including tooth powder and laundry powder. But it seemed the best guess, and was only $.10, so we thought we would try to make rhubarb cobbler. We found a biscuit recipe on the internet to use as the topping, as we would normally do at home. As Lea began the project, she quickly realized that she had nothing to measure with - everything had to be approximate. She tried to cook it in the convection oven, but could only figure out one temperature setting - H. Although the biscuit topping did not rise, it cooked through and was tasty. For the price you pay for baked goods here, our baking days may be over! Lea also prepared a light, fresh, and tasty salad with onions, tomatoes, parsley (2 bunches for $.20) and fresh sheep's milk cheese that we bought the other day at the local market. Tomorrow, we will make applesauce.

A brief note about L'viv. You can find alot of information about the city on the web, but the UCSB oral history site has an organized, short history. It is also a Unesco World Heritage site.